1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to data processing systems and in particular to a method, computer program product, and apparatus for managing objects. Still more particularly, the present invention provides a computer implemented method, apparatus, and computer program product for a framework for managing objects.
2. Description of the Related Art
An object in a computer is an item which can be accessed, such as, for example, a file, a device, or a command. In a computer, the computer's operating system keeps track of objects. The operating system may control each user's access to specific objects in the computer. For example, a format command in a kernel may be used to format a storage device, erasing all data stored on the storage device. To prevent the loss of important objects, the kernel may prevent specific users from accessing the important objects.
Typically, an operating system allows a system administrator to specify an access rule for an object. The access rule specifies the level of access each user has to the object. An access rule is specified using an attribute of the object known to the operating system. Thus, the kernel must know the object's attribute to control the level of access. If the object has an attribute and the kernel is not aware of the attribute, the attribute cannot be used to specify the access rule for the object.